by Sanitsuda Ekachai, Bangkok Post, Sept 28, 2006

Bangkok, Thailand -- I had my first taste of a military coup when I was two, when strongman Sarit Thanarat toppled the fascist Pibul regime. Shortly after that my father and a score of his journalist friends were sent to jail just because they had been to China on a press trip. And also because the US-backed junta wanted to impress its big brother that they were serious about the commies. A lot has happened since then, leading many of us to believe coups had become obsolete in our country. That has proven to be a false hope.

Reuters, Sept 28, 2006

HANOI, Vietnam -- A Buddhist monk, who is confined by the Vietnamese government to his monastery, fears he would be prevented from returning to Vietnam if he travelled to Norway to receive a human rights award, his supporters said.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, September 28, 2006

Hanoi, Vietnam -- The 86-year-old patriarch of a banned Buddhist sect in Vietnam has been hospitalized and was being transferred to a Ho Chi Minh City facility for heart and lung problems, his Paris-based supporters said Thursday.

by SANTIKARO, Bangkok Post, Sept 24, 2006

An early exponent of Theravadins opening up to other Buddhist traditions, Buddhadasa Bhikku wasn't an activist in the sense of organising inter-religious conferences, but the interest he showed in other religions and his willingness to critique practices he saw as wayward influenced others to do just that

Bangkok, Thailand -- Buddhadasa Bhikkhu was one of the most influential figures in Thai Buddhism during the last century. His progressive and reformist character, as well as his profound but extremely straightforward dharma teachings made a lasting impact on Theravada Buddhism. This year we mark the centenary of his birth and this is the second in a series of "Turning Wheel" articles written in his honour.